Ilario Pantano was in his element this week as he met with area law enforcement professionals in a rally supporting his campaign for the U.S. Congress.
“I felt comfortable with them,” the candidate said after the luncheon gathering at Carolina Barbecue in Wilmington, NC. “They’re my friends. We have so much in common.”
The meeting drew a turn-out of an estimated 50 law enforcement professionals – some retired, some still active – to hear Pantano outline his philosophy and objectives in his first try for political office.
Pantano, a former New Hanover County Deputy Sheriff and decorated Marine Corps combat veteran of three wars, is casting his role in the campaign as the principled conservative solution to the faltering job markets and struggling small businesses of North Carolina's Cape Fear region.
"My sheriff once told me I have a 'service heart’, but I just believe I need to be where the rubber meets the road. Washington needs more doers and less talkers,” Pantano observed.
“My range of life experiences in small business, on Wall Street, as a Marine, as a best-selling communicator and ultimately as a New Hanover County Deputy Sheriff, has prepared me for this moment. I am in position to seriously challenge Rep. Mike McIntyre for the first time in his fourteen years in office. I expect he may realize his vulnerability. I wouldn’t blame him if he feels a bit nervous,” he concluded.
The candidate said the quest to put a Republican into office in the Seventh Congessional District for the first time in 100 years will be a tough battle, but that he promises to make it a clean race based on the issues.
“This was really the kick-off of our campaign,” he noted, “because I only filed officially yesterday (Feb. 24). What’s exciting to me now is the level of attention that this race has already gotten, and the level of support we’ve attracted.”
William Richards, an active officer with the Wilmington Police Department for 10 years, was typical of the people in attendance who were interviewed for this Examiner.com exclusive campaign report.
“I’ve known Ilario for a little over five years now,” Richards explained. “After hearing about him, I read a copy of his book and we became friends. He lives near my parents. The man is a natural-born leader with great integrity. If he goes to Washington and gets around corrupt people, I trust him to not get involved with that stuff and do the right thing. I came today to listen and learn. He’s got my vote. I would follow him into any battle.”
The Republican candidate also has the support of his mother, as one would expect. Merry Pantano lives in Burgaw. “People seem to be interested in knowing more about Ilario. I know he does what he says he will do. To me that’s a very important quality. That’s the way I raised him.”
Pantano said his quest for office got a good jump start before his candidacy became official. “Even prior to our filing we had commitments for over $100,000. That’s very encouraging. Today was a meet and greet and fund-raiser for Cops for Pantano. We had a great turn-out from all the law enforcement agencies, New Hanover County Sheriff’s office, Wilmington Police Department, retired New York Police Department, and other agencies and task forces. That’s important to me because that’s my base. Not my electoral base, but my emotional base.”
The Pantano campaign will use specialized media tools to spread the candidate’s message. A DVD produced for this purpose was unveiled at the luncheon event. Over 5,000 copies of the professional audiovisual production will be available next week for distribution to voters in the Seventh Congressional District.
The fast-paced feature is approximately eight minutes long. Yard signs, bumper stickers and literature will also be made available upon request, the Pantano for Congress campaign office advised.
“The DVD is a way of saying that conservatives will be taking our message directly to the people in the most convincing way," Pantano stated. "We need to use modern technology to tell voters who we are. This audiovisual piece is not the campaign – just a device. But it’s a very useful useful device – a force multiplier. I think citizens of the Seventh District will enjoy this short video and be informed by it.”
Pantano added that he cannot depend on mass media to get his conservative message out.
“My mom calls the mainstream media ‘the lamestream media’, and I think she’s got that right. The big daily newspaper in this area is a good example. I made the Star-News a lot of money when they kept my picture on the front page week after week during the so-called ‘murder’ case for which I was exonerated. Now they’re trying to bury my campaign so deep that I can’t even find it when I’m looking. But with our DVD, Internet news services, and social networks like Facebook, we are staying in touch with voters. Where media are concerned, conservatives have options we haven’t had before.”
Pantano and his wife Jill are residents of Wilmington, NC where they have lived, worked and raised their two young sons since Pantano's return from duty in Iraq and honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps.
http://www.pantanoforcongress.com/
The Seventh District Republican primary, which will be decided on May 4, 2010, started with a three-man field. However, one of the three –Tim Wilkes of Brunswick County -- dropped out after failing to raise the $1,740.00 filing fee.
Wilkes has thrown his support to Pantano for Congress. Full coverage of this late campaign development will be offered in other stories on this news and politics site. Get the latest by visiting this Web address frequently:
http://www.examiner.com/x-20074-Raleigh-Conservative-Examiner
Now the race boils down to two hard-charging candidates – Ilario Pantano and Will Breazeale, both of Wilmington. The match-up promises to be a pot-boiler, with the victor seizing the opportunity to challenge incumbent Mike McIntyre in the November mid-term elections
Breazeale, 41, is also a highly-decorated military officer, has pulled three tours of combat duty in the Middle East, served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, and been selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He lives in Wilmington and is a Boeing 737 pilot for Airtrans airways.
Comments
Last week I read Pantano's people complaining about Breazeale, now he's griping about the media being biased? Does this guy ever do anything other than complain? Doesn't he have any policy proposals to talk about? Or will his whole campaign be about how the whole world is against him?
Egging on the media, especially with the baggage Pantano carries doesn't sound like a real good idea. Perhaps he knows something they already have that could be very damaging and is just trying to plan his excuse ahead of time? Otherwise, picking a fight with those that have the power to do unlimited digging and show their findings to the masses is not a good idea.
Spot on. A lot of moaning from Mr. Pantano about everything is all there is to see. I asked some questions on this board last week that my friends and I had discussed and got nothing but angry and insulting responses from his supporters. Really expected a lot more.
Mark Apple:
Pleasae cut Mr. Pantano some slack. If you are a conservative, you should know that the liberal Star-News is going to affect not only candidate Pantano, but also candidate Breazeale -- both of whom I cover. This is why the Internet, and Examiner.com sites like this, will soon be the only reliable source of news about the conservative movement in America, NC, and the Cape Fear Region. I hope both of these outstanding gentlemen will stand together on this. The "mainstream" media bring an agenda to the table and should not be mistaken as friends. I have learned this lesson the hard way in over 40 years of covering the political scene in this State. Thanks for expressing your opinions here, and please stay in touch!
McIntyre is gonna have a field day with Pantano...sadly the 7th district GOP has yet to realze this. Which is probably why this has stayed a dem seat for too long. We finally have a candidate with a great reputation and running against McIntyre for the 2nd time (McIntyre has never faced the same guy twice) what does the GOP do? Allows Pantano to run and eventually fall. If Pantano somehow wins this primary which he wont, I cant wait to see Code Pink and the ACLU down here. Didnt Pantano forget the Geneva Conventions while uncuffing those prisoners and allow them to search a possible dangerous vehicle?
It is a much-needed shot of optimism for the future of this great nation to see a man of integrity and values such as Ilario Pantano running for public office. The sacrifices he has made for his nation in the past speak to his character and that fact he is enthusiastically asking to serve his community, state and nation once again places him head and shoulders above the rest that Washington has to offer. I only hope that men and women of a similar caliber find the resources to run for elected office in my community. If not I just may have to move to the 7th District.
Copy and paste....
I served under Lt. Pantano. In my humble opinion there is no better candidate for congress I only wish he was running in my district. The Lt. is the type of individual this country needs especially in these times. He knows war and he knows peace. He has made those decisions that all else were afraid to make and stood behind them no matter what the out come. This country needs a Leader with this type of conviction.I have put my life in his capable hands and would gladly place the lives of my family in the same hands any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Howdy again, Kirk. I'm finding your little ranting droppings all over the web. I had the day off today, so I'm just following along for fun and curiosity.
I sincerely assure you that the Marine Corps can answer all your indignant questions about their methods of investigating Pantano (twice) and clearing him (TWICE). You seem to take great umbrage that their findings don't agree with your agenda, so I suggest you take it up with them.
If you have a few weeks of spare time, I also suggest you read their entire 1500+ page file on the Article 32. You seem to have nothing better to do with your time than armchair quarterback a man who was in deadly combat and daily put his life on the line for his country, so hop to it!
And Mark, you know who else was labeled a "complainer" and "whiner" when she stood up for herself and the truth? Sarah Palin. And anyone who watches that woman speak knows she doesn't have a whiny bone in her body. The same is true of Pantano. I heard his objection about some of Breazeale's claims and the media, and he wasn't "whiny" - his voice was pitched low and firm. On purpose. You can tell he was well-trained as an officer in the Corps.
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